The Best Films of 2016 | #20 – #1

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Welcome to the 140 Best Films of 2016.

Over the past year, movies have increasingly found their way to us by means other than the cinema, such as VOD platforms like Netflix and Amazon, and in some cases, releases straight to DVD. Every outlet has given us some of 2016’s best films, so since this is simply the new – and probably in many cases, only – way those films would reach us, I’m now including them in these end-of-year countdowns to reflect the more realistic methods we consume them. Films are always better in the theatre, but a significant number of them simply aren’t going to get a fighting chance. (Plus, if a film has a VOD-only release, and is therefore much more easier and convenient to watch than trekking out to a cinema showing it, then it’d be absurd to exclude it here, surely?)

So how does a movie qualify to end up on this particular list? All it needs is a UK release in 2016, whether that be the date it was first shown in UK cinemas, released on VOD platforms in the UK, or released on home entertainment, like DVD or Blu-ray, in the UK.

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20.

Tickled

Dir. David Farrier, Dylan Reeve

‘This tickling wormhole was getting deeper.’

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19.

When Marnie Was There

Omoide no Mânî

Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi

‘In this world, there’s an invisible magic circle. There’s an inside, and an outside – and I am outside.’